Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas called said Friday that the accession was a "historic day for the Palestinian people."

The Geneva Conventions and their additional Protocols are the fundamental texts of humanitarian law.

Palestinians are attached in particular the Fourth Geneva Convention on the protection of civilians, which defines the duties of "occupying" power. This Convention, which was introduced on August 12, 1949, is often cited by the Palestinian Authority because of its applicability to the Palestinian territories as "occupied territories," as well as Jewish colonization.

Among the obligations of an occupying power, specified in Article 49 of the Convention, is the prohibition of forced transfers and deportations of populations or individuals, as well as the destruction of movable or immovable property, unless it is made "absolutely necessary by military operations."

One aspect of the Geneva Conventions that has raised particular concern in Israel is the prohibition on colonizing occupied land. Israel says this should not apply to the West Bank and Gaza because the two territories exist in sovereignty limbo - no longer claimed by Jordan and Egypt, who ruled them before 1967, while the Palestinians have never had a state.

Israel has also argued that east Jerusalem should not be considered occupied because it has extended citizenship rights to its Arab residents, although only several thousand of the city's quarter million Arab residents have taken advantage of this. The international community has not recognized Israel's annexation.

The Palestine Liberation Organization first asked to join the Geneva Conventions on June 21, 1989. At the time, the Swiss Foreign Ministry said it was not in a position to decide on the bid "due to the uncertainty within the international community as to the existence or non-existence of a State of Palestine."

On Thursday, the United Nations said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon accepted Palestinian applications to join 13 other conventions, saying they were "in due and proper form."

Among these international treaties are the Vienna Conventions on Diplomatic and Consular Relations, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Convention against Torture and one against corruption.

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters Thursday that Ban informed all 193 UN member states of his acceptance.

Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian UN ambassador, said Tuesday that Palestine will officially become a state party to 13 of the 15 conventions on May 2 - and is ready with more applications
to join UN agencies, conventions and treaties depending on Israel's actions.